As chef-owner of the grill-focused restaurant Le Binchotan, Jeremmy Chiam isn’t afraid to draw from multiple influences to make a dish work. What would he be eating in his bunker during an emergency? “Something comforting, something soupy because you’re in distress.” Cue a rich, flavourful pasta dish prepared with spaghetti, corned beef, and an umami-packed tomato dashi. Drawing from his Japanese culinary training, Chiam has balanced the dashi with sweetness from the honey (in normal situations it would be onions); and a bit of acidity from the cornichons to counteract the intense savouriness of the dish.

Spaghetti with corned beef in tomato dashi

Serving: 4 persons

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes (excluding bringing the water to a boil)

Ingredients:

2 cans Corned beef, chopped into a mince

1 pkt [500g] Spaghetti

1 tin Tomatoes

10 Cornichons (brunoise)

2tsp Hon Dashi Powder

2tsp Honey

200ml Olive oil

Method:

Bring a pot of clean unsalted water to a roiling boil and blanch the spaghetti for 5 minutes. Lightly coat with olive oil and set aside

Heat olive oil on a pan and sauté the corned beef until slightly browned

Add the tinned tomatoes and let it simmer for roughly 20 minutes

Mix in honey, hon dashi powder and the cornichons

Toss in the blanched spaghetti, then turn off the heat and let rest for a minute